The PC port of the well-known console game, "Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition" has some technical issues not found in the original release.

While the original Dark Souls came out in October 2011, "Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition" is the PC release of that game. The game has some new content and areas that aren't available for the console version except as DLC. As such, "Prepare to Die Edition" has to be judged in technical terms, not gameplay terms.

First off, the game is essentially unplayable without a gamepad or some serious overhauling of the default controls. While it's certainly difficult to translate such a complex game to a keyboard and mouse, it still seems like something that should be carried out more effectively in the PC release of a game. The Steam page for the game, at least, says outright that you should have a gamepad to play it. On a similar note, the "Games for Windows Live" system that the game uses is not exactly the best - not awful, necessarily, but somewhat slow to start up.

Graphically, there's not a lot that can really be changed about the game. The default resolutions are very limited, though there's mods that are easy enough to install. There are no options regarding image quality, so you're absolutely stuck with the default level. Again, this reflects a failure to adapt to the PC audience - the developers seem to treat it like a console game being ported to just another system. My computer can run most modern games well, but Dark Souls seemed to chug while still not being as visually impressive as it would be on the PS3.

Overall, "Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition" is mostly a failure. There are no benefits to playing it on the PC other than "it's on the PC". If you don't have a console it might be worth picking up just because the game itself is good, but if you have a PS3 or an XBOX 360, you'd be better off getting the extra content for those systems.

Rating: 4/10.

I purchased this game with my own funds for the purpose of doing this review.